Hey all, I need some advice. Today I heard my bees swarming and gathering in a tree. I went to the suspected hive and found some bees on the ground and happened to see the queen. I put her in a marking cage and into a box infront of the hive. The swarm shortly left the tree and not sure if they took off or came back to the hive but theres not to many hanging around thequeen. What you guys think? How should I treat the situation?
swarm left queen behind
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The bees that swarmed must of had the original queen with them - where the queen goes they cluster. I would guess the queen you found is one that emerged from a queen cell. If what you found on the ground was the swarm queen the swarm cell would have been all over her.
There a a few possibilities as to what happened. The swarm could have left the hive, but the queen fell into the grass and was unable to join the swarm, in that case the swarm could have returned without you knowing it. Or, the old queen left with a prime swarm some time ago, and this swarm today was an afterswarm which contained one or more virgins. In that case, the queen on the ground was a virgin and was not getting any attention from other bees, which would be understandable, as virgins are not that attractive to the workers. There may have been one or more virgins that succeeded in joining the swarm on the tree, and they left for a new home. I would take the queen that you found on the ground and just throw her back in the hive and let everything sort itself out.
:thumbsup:
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